SECURITIES & CONSUMER CLASS ACTIONS

The Class Period is a specific time period during which the unlawful conduct is alleged to have occurred. For example, in a securities class action, anyone who acquired securities of the defendant company during the Class Period is a member of the Class and eligible to participate in any recovery, if we are successful. Although the initial complaint will specify a certain Class Period, the Class Period may be expanded to encompass a longer period of time.

To participate in the recovery, your overall investment in the stock during the Class Period must have resulted in a loss. You may sell your stock at any time and still participate in the recovery, so long as your overall investment resulted in a loss.

Near the beginning of a securities fraud case, the court appoints a Lead Plaintiff to prosecute the lawsuit on behalf of the members of the Class. An individual plaintiff, a group of individuals or other entity – an investment fund, for example – can serve as Lead Plaintiff. The court usually appoints the class member with the largest financial interest in the recovery sought by the Class to serve as the Lead Plaintiff.

The federal securities laws require public notice to be published within 20 days after a securities fraud class action lawsuit is filed, alerting investors that the lawsuit has been filed and that class members have 60 days to request the court for appointment as Lead Plaintiff. In addition to representing the Class, the Lead Plaintiff plays a crucial role in selecting the court-appointed Lead Counsel, and is encouraged to consult with Lead Counsel concerning the course of the litigation. By seeking Lead Plaintiff status, and choosing skilled, experienced counsel to represent the Class, an individual class member may significantly affect the likelihood of the lawsuit’s success and the size of any eventual recovery.

The requirement to participate as a potential Lead Plaintiff is simple: Sign the Certification form which you can either complete on our site or contact us at [email protected] to complete the forms. You can then either send them back via email, by fax at (212) 697-7296 or by mail at 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 4600 New York, NY 10165.

Please provide all of your transactions in all of your accounts for the relevant security/securities for this class action. This includes all trades before, during, and after the Class Period. If you have more than 20 transactions, please provide a copy of your data in an Excel spreadsheet. Your transaction statement should include the following: Number of Shares/Contract/Transaction Type (Purchase, Sale, Transfer, Exercise, Assignment, etc)/Trade Price/Security Type (ticker, common stock, option details, etc.) Your transaction statement should not include the following: Wash sales/Cost basis/Realized gain loss statements/Tax statements. Please provide your current holdings for the relevant security/securities for this class action.

Costs and expenses of the lawsuit are usually advanced by the law firms prosecuting on behalf of the Class. Our firm works on a contingent fee basis. That means we will ask the court to grant us reimbursement of our out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys’ fees  usually a percentage of the total recovery  only if we are successful.